In April 2011, I’d just turned 24 and was looking for a new spot to live in Brooklyn. I’d been sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a friend of a friend, paying reduced rent for the tradeoff of walking his dog when he worked long shifts as a nurse at a nearby hospital. I was a social worker and my bedroom was so small that my dad came down from Vermont to help me build a loft for my bed, creating a tiny “closet” space underneath. 

In April 2011, I’d just turned 24 and was looking for a new spot to live in Brooklyn. I’d been sharing a two-bedroom apartment with a friend of a friend, paying reduced rent for the tradeoff of walking his dog when he worked long shifts as a nurse at a nearby hospital. I was a social worker and my bedroom was so small that my dad came down from Vermont to help me build a loft for my bed, creating a tiny “closet” space underneath.